There is no denying the importance of mobile websites: mobile devices now account for over 50% of website searches and the trend is only going to continue as the popularity and sales figures of smartphones continue to grow. Smartphone sales overtook PC sales for the first time last year; this was two years earlier than expected.
In fact Google put so much importance on the future of mobile web access that in 2010 they became a ‘mobile first’ company, meaning they develop their sites and tools for mobiles before desktop computers.
With the rise in popularity of mobile web browsing it’seeze websites launched a new website product at the start of 2012, aptly named it’seeze Mobile. “Our development team set to work last year on a new website system for mobile phones. It was essential that our mobile website platform still retained the unique it’seeze editing tool that all of our websites come with, enabling full editability throughout all sites” commented Karl Lewins, Business Development Manager at it’seeze. “Since our launch at the start of the year we have seen a massive surge in enquires for our mobile sites and I put this down to the popularity of smartphones and the number of people using them to browse the internet”.
In September 2009 mobile web traffic accounted for just 0.02% of all online traffic, but by July 2011 this rocketed up to 12.5%, and the latest figures from Westminster eForum from March 2012* say that mobile phones now account for a whopping 28% of website traffic! Meaning in under one year internet usage on a mobile phones has doubled.
With 42.16 million adults in the UK having access to the internet (representing 83.7% of the adult population)** it is increasingly important for businesses to have exposure for mobile phones.
The scale of which mobile web browsing has taken off can be seen from some interesting statistics below, taken from the latest Westminster eForum event titled ‘The Future of Mobile’, by Paul Rodgers, March 2012*
- There are more mobile phones in the UK than people
- The number of smartphone searchers doubles every two months
- 52% of people with a mobile phone have a smart phone
- 19% of search queries in the travel industry are from mobiles (was 11% in 2011)
- 16% of search queries in retail are from mobiles (was 10% in 2011)
- 19% of search queries in the entertainment industry are from mobiles (was 10% in 2011)
- An average of 4 Ferraris are sold on a mobile phone every month
- eBay forecasts $8 billion in mobile sales this year (one sale per second)
- 49% of all Paddy Power bets are made from mobile devices
- 28% of people in the UK have purchased something using their phone
- 38% of UK tablet owners spend more time on their tablet than watching TV
- 53% of people in the UK are ‘dual screening’ (using phone whilst watching TV for example)
- 20% of all YouTube views are from a mobile device
- 23% increase in search queries from tablets after Christmas day (due to them being given as presents)
“Mobile sites are now crucial to any business and just because you have a website, that doesn’t mean it’s geared up for mobile phones. It is very important to understand that desktop website design and mobile website design differ dramatically, and people using their phones to browse online need a different interface to navigate a website – standard websites are nowhere near equipped to handle this” adds Karl. “People expect quick load time, easy navigation, clean design and concise information as they view a mobile website on the go”.
It’seeze Mobile websites are available from as little as £150 plus a small monthly cost.






























